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News > Venezuela

Colombian Senator Admits His Country Exports Paramilitaries

  • Colombian Ivan Cepeda said that the presence of paramilitaries outside of Colombia's borders is a real phenomenon.

    Colombian Ivan Cepeda said that the presence of paramilitaries outside of Colombia's borders is a real phenomenon. | Photo: Archive

Published 27 August 2015
Opinion

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the border with Colombia closed in order to address the presence of paramilitaries within Venezuela's borders.

Colombian Senator Ivan Cepeda told local radio Wednesday that he agrees that paramilitary groups have extended their reach into other countries, notably neighboring Venezuela, which decided to close its border with Colombia in an effort to combat the threat of these illegal armed groups.

"We draw attention to the export of paramilitarism, that's not a made-up thing, it is not the product of the fevered imagination of any president in Latin America, it is a fact, there are paramilitary groups operating on our borders and the Colombian drug trade has become transnational," Cepeda told RCN radio.

This article forms part of a series of information about paramilitrism in the region. Click on the image to learn more.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the border with Colombia closed last week after Colombian paramilitaries attacked Venezuelan soldiers who were patrolling the border. Critics have suggested that President Maduro is exaggerating the presence of paramilitaries within Venezuela's border to distract from internal issues such as the lack of certain products inside the country. Cepeda's comments appeared to be a direct response to those criticisms.

RELATED: Paramilitarism on the Rise in Venezuela

Meanwhile, political opponents of the Maduro government have tried to take advantage of the present border issues. Colombia’s far-right former President Alvaro Uribe, a vocal critic of both Maduro and the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, even traveled to the border region to foment unrest.

RELATED: Who is Alvaro Uribe?

Colombian Senator Cepeda also struck out at Uribe and his ally, Attorney General Alejandro Ordoñez, for suggesting that, as a result of the border issue, Venezuela withdraw from its role as an observer of the ongoing peace talks between the Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

"The idea that the peace process with the FARC is already sufficiently developed and can dispense with Venezuela, seems to us an idea that helps those who want to undermine the peace process in the country and are using the strategy of seeking a confrontation with Venezuela to derail the peace process in Colombia," said Cepeda.

The Colombian senator said he would travel Thursday to the border city of Cucuta.

Venezuelan President Maduro also declared a state of exception in a handful of municipalities on the border in order to address the presence of paramilitaries within Venezuela's borders.

RELATED: What is a State of Exception?

Venezuelan officials say that paramilitary groups are not only involved in violent crimes throughout the country, but also are heavily involved in smuggling operations, which are negatively impacting Venezuela's economy.

Many basic goods are subsidized by the socialist government in order to ensure low-income population can afford them, however these are smuggled over the border to Colombia and sold at inflated prices for a considerable profit margin.

The foreign ministers of Colombia and Venezuela met Wednesday in Cartagena as part of an effort to find a peaceful resolution to border situation.

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